Oops....it's been too long!

So, it's going to be impossible to sum up everything that's happened that last four months in one entry.  Here's a few highlights!

* Grayson LOVES school!  He comes home excited about going to specials, new learning and the friends he's made!  He's very excited to be going to the same school as Kai next year!  We enroll him in kindergarten (oh my!!!!) the end of this month!

* Kai continues to enjoy school too.  Full day was an adjustment for him, but he manages to make it all week and then takes at least one nap on the weekend!  He has a VERY busy class.  His poor teacher.  I'm a little bummed that I can't be a part of it all, but I hear all sorts of stories every day. :)

* The boys are on the same basketball team this winter and are having fun learning all about it!  Kai looks out for his brother keeping him "on track" and Grayson is trying so hard to score a basket during a game.  He's got a great attitude and loves it.  :) He loves defense.

*Leela is always our sassy one.  She has become even more independent (if that's possible!) and thinks she's in charge of all the kids.  She's often caught telling the boys what to do and correcting any wrong behaviors.  She takes it upon herself to lift Amelia if she's playing in an area she shouldn't.  She still loves singing, dancing, puzzles, board games and reading books.

*Our sweet little baby girl is almost one.  How is this possible????  She really has been the easiest baby ever.  We have been spoiled.  Such a great sleeper and loves to be around people.  As long as she has a paci and someone to hold her and play with her, she's set!  Daddy is her new best friend.  She's starting to take steps and we are in the process of switching her over to whole milk.  Crazy it's time to think about that!  She's working on getting some molars right now.

* Cari is adjusting to kindergarten.  It's a whole different world compared to 1st grade and every day is an adventure.  I don't LOVE it yet, but don't think I can evaluate the grade level this year.  It's certainly growing on me.  Too many new things this year.  I really love my school and my principal.  So happy that I'm at Forest View!

*Derek loves working at Research.  He gets to see a lot of former coworkers that bring in patients.  He likes getting to pick his schedule too.  He's been off since winter break though because all the open shifts have either been all nighters or during the weekday.  He's picked up a few this month on days that I'm off so it's nice that worked out.

* We just had Grayson's birthday party last weekend with family.  Grayson picked a Dr. Who theme AGAIN.  We had a life size tardis, which was a hit. Making it hard for this mama to come up with new things to do or make! :)

* Amelia's party is this weekend and it's a Valentine theme.  I'm having fun planning her party and am going to use a few things from her party for the boy's school parties the next week.  Love that I can double dip! :)

That's about all the info I've got for you!  Enjoy the pics!

Yea, not sure what happened with this picture.  Best one I got. Ooops. Happy Halloween!

Happy 3rd birthday!

That might have been right before her hair caught on fire....ooops! :)

Merry Christmas! :)  The kids were battling stomach flu this year!

10 months...who needs a sticker to show it?!?!!?

Dr. Who party!

It's the Doctor!!!

Grayson and his cousin, Piper

The babies!

Pin the bowtie on the Doctor!

Grayson and Haddy!!

Changes galore at the Brown household. New jobs, missing teeth, princesses and divas. Oh my!

Ok here it is kids.  Something most of you probably never thought they would see.  Our family blog and it’s not being written by Cari but by Derek.  I’m taking over this time because of how busy and overworked Cari is.  I am sure she will tell me my blog post is not up to her standards (which it won’t be), but what can you do.  So as I mentioned earlier Cari has been super busy with her job.  Going back teaching full time is a drastic change not only for her but everyone.  It’s definitely an adjustment for everyone involved.  Right now Cari is putting in close to eleven hours a day either teaching or working on things related to teaching.  She is definitely overworked.  Not to mention she is still getting up at night to pump so little Amelia has milk when she is home with daddy.  So for anyone who knows Cari, knows with this much on her plate, she is overstressed.  So if anyone has any prayers they could send Cari’s way, that would be fantastic.

So not only is Cari starting back at school but so is Kai.  He is now going to full day school. He has only ever done half day prior to this year, so this is a shock for him.   It’s definitely wearing him out.  Although he does love it.  He is such a big boy going full day.  I think he loves everything about going full day.  He loves that is now on the same schedule as the rest of the school.  He also loves being able to eat his lunch at school.  He works really hard to make sure he is not wasting time at lunch so he can finish all his food.  That was a big thing for me and he has been doing a great job with that.  He loves going to school and he is doing a great job so far.  Also, Kai is losing teeth like crazy.  He already lost 3 of his front teeth and another one is loose.  He is so excited to lose his teeth because it means money for him and money for him means he can buy new wrestlers.  If Kai had his choice I am sure he would lose all his teeth today.  Although I am sure by the next blog post he will have lost another tooth.  

Now Cari and Kai are not the only ones going to school in the family. Finally the G-man is going to his first year of preschool.  Grayson goes three days a week and he loves it.  He definitely wishes he could go every day.  He is learning so much so quickly.  It’s incredible to see how he quickly he is catching on.  I think Cari and I were worried a little bit about how he would do in school since Grayson is a little aloof. Although he has been picking things up quickly and he is very interested in learning new things in school.  When I pick Grayson up from school, he just loves to tell me all about his day and everything he did. 

Finally we come to the baby and the diva.  Amelia and Leela.  They are adjusting to life at home with daddy.  The girls seem to be adjusting well although Amelia is still very much a mommy’s girl.  She is good being at home with me but the minute Cari walks in the door Amelia takes off crawling towards her.  She is so happy to see her mommy.  When Cari goes upstairs to change, Amelia looses it thinking mommy is leaving again.  Once Cari comes back down then she is happy.  She definitely cannot wait to see her mommy by the end of the day.  Overall though Amelia is doing great. She has transitioned to bottle well and she still sleeps through the night.  She is probably the best sleeper we have had out of all the kids.  This really helps when Cari is going back full time and all the changes that are occurring in the Brown household.  If Amelia keeps being this good of a baby it may convince Cari to have another one (hehe).  Now as it pertains to the diva, Miss Leela.  I think she likes me being at home with her during the day.  Maybe not as much she likes being home with mommy but she seems to like being home with me.  I will tell you she loves to get spoiled by me when she’s home.  Most of all when Kai and Grayson are at school and she is all alone with me and we can do whatever she wants.  Also, the constant treats and donuts are a positive thing too.  Leela is a diva through and through and I don’t think it’s going to change because she gets whatever she wants from me.  Although no matter how much of a diva she is, I still love all of her dearly.

Well there it is people.  The first blog post of the Derek daycare era. Hopefully this doesn’t upset Cari too much when she sees that I posted this without her approval.  I guess we’ll see soon enough.  Anyways take care everyone and enjoy some pictures below.  Cheery-bye!

Our happy baby

She loves playing wrestlers just like the boys.  This does not make mommy happy

See, I can drink my bottle all by myself.  I don't need may daddy's help at all

This is Leela being her usual self

Leela being a good big sister. She loves being an older sister

G-man's first day of school.  He's so happy

Who needs a bed to sleep in. This is how I found her after I went and checked on her

Oh, milk so good. I'm passing out.  Also I only need one hand now, that's how talented I am

Daddy said I couldn't sleep on the floor, then I will sleep on top of my chair on top of my stuffed animals

Kai missing three of his front teeth

The most beautiful woman in the world.  Three letters describe this lady... H.O.T!

The princess and the diva pose for a picture together

Kai's 6th Birthday Party and Amelia is 5 months!

What's going on here?!!??!?!  TWO blog posts in one month?  That's not normal.  You're right!  It's not!  It's just your lucky day!  Ha! :)

This will be pretty quick, but I wanted to get some pictures up before things get REALLY crazy.  I've been working hard on my classroom and thanks to the huge help of my Mom, I'm in good shape.  There's still lots to do, but if school started tomorrow, my room would be ok.  I helped out with enrollment this past week and had a chance to meet several families, including many that will have a kindergartner.  Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it made me even more excited about starting!  Enough about me though...on to more exciting things like babies and birthday parties!

Miss Amelia is now 5 1/2 months and time is just FLYING by!  She was at the doctor this week and weighs 16 pounds!  She is on the move with her army crawl and we are quickly learning to make sure that little toys need to be kept up high.  I was worried about how Leela would react to this change, but she's doing pretty well with it.  If she sees her trying to get toys she shouldn't, Leela quickly grabs one of Amelia's toys and brings it to her.  She's such a good sister.  I'm so proud of her!  She really has surprised Derek and I with the whole baby sister gig.  Thank goodness!  Amelia has figured out how to blow bubbles and is making all sorts of extra "spiddle-diddle" as the kids and I call it. :)  She is such a happy baby and easy baby.  We really hit the jackpot with her!  She's been sleeping through the night for almost two months now and I hope it stays that way!!!  She's not always the best nap taker, but we don't care...she's sleeping at night!!!  Thank goodness she loves the paci.  Not that she had a choice in that matter...she was pretty much forced to love it from week one.  :)  Amelia's been adjusting well to bottles the last two weeks and it seems like she's drinking a lot!  Happy that's not going to be a struggle or issue for Derek.  Hard to believe that she's going to be six months in a few weeks and can start solids.  She's very interested in what we are eating, so I know she's ready.  We gave her some puffs tonight and she loved them!  Her siblings appreciated the extra treat too!  Does anyone else's older kids love puffs too???

We had a really fun time at Kai's birthday party.  It was so hot, but lucked out that there was a nice breeze and it wasn't bad under the shelter.  Kai was so excited to have family AND friends there this year and we had a good turnout.  He was bummed that some of his friends couldn't make it and I tried to warn him that with a summer birthday, it's hard to catch everyone not on vacation.  He had fun seeing some of his classmates that he hadn't seen since school was out in May!  The kids had a good time playing on the playground, eating snacks and playing some Turtle games that I made up.  Overall, it was an enjoyable afternoon!

That's about all the excitement for now.  Once I have my classroom setup complete, I will post some pictures, as well as the first day of school for Kai and Grayson.  Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics!

Kai the baseball player!

Go Royals!

He cracks me up.  Love him!

Getting ready for my first haircut!

Mommy cut almost 5 inches off!

Party time!

Birthday boy!!!

                                                                 Welcome to the party!

Rare moment where she's letting me take a pic!

Love those kids so, so much!

Happy baby!!!!!

Party time!

Grayson and Dax!!!

Singing Happy Birthday time!

This little sweetie is 5 months!

Love those chunky legs!!!

 

I think this is the first time I see some of me in her!